Tour & Voting Launch at Movement

Detroit – Nearly 100,000 revelers hit Hart Plaza this past May 25-27 for Movement, Detroit’s electronic music festival. The Memorial Day weekend bash also served as the launch event for America’s Best DJ Summer Tour Presented by Pioneer DJ and DJ Times.

ABDJ highlights included: Soul Clap’s three-hour, Beatport-stage set of ultra-vibey grooves, which mixed grinding Bambaataa beats with soulful, deep house; Moby’s tough, muscular techno set at Beatport Stage, complete with manic crowd exhortations; Stacey Pullen’s scalding Boiler Room set on the grass in the VIP section; and Maceo Plex’s whopping groovefest at the Life + Death afterparty at St. Andrew’s Hall.

Other highlights included: System of Survival’s chunky grooves with acid stabs and tasty vocals at the Beatport stage; J. Phlip’s snappy/blippy techno at Electric Forest stage; Nicole Moudaber’s buzzbomb set in the madhouse that was the Underground Stage; Daniel Bell’s sublime vinyl set of techno classics at the Made in Detroit stage; and James Holden’s deeply trippy chill-tech set in the St. Andrew’s Hall basement at the Life + Death afterparty.

DJ Times correspondent Phil Moffa on his time at Movement: I spent most of my time at the Underground Stage hearing mind-altering sets from DJs like Mike Parker, Silent Servant and DVS1. Also, at Movement, you could never go wrong at the Made In Detroit stage, where natives DJ Minx and Ryan Elliot served up very memorable beats. And in his usual fine style, Squarepusher melted faces with his forward-thinking rhythms, unique timbres and dazzling visuals on the Red Bull Music Academy stage.

From DJ Times correspondent Natalie Raben: At Movement, Miguel Campbell brought his distinct disco flavor to the Beatport stage. He added “Something Special” to his own track of that very name by mashing it with Daft Punk. Moby donned a skater hoodie and commanded the crowd in his deity-like fashion, building the crowd up in style. The realness was going down on the Made in Detroit stage, and there was not an improper beat coming out of that area—top talent included Daniel Bell and ladies of the house, DJ Minx f/ Diviniti & Eva Soul. And at Beatport stage, Art Department’s techy house set got the hipsters raging.

After the party, well, it’s the after party, and this year’s selection did not disappoint. On Saturday night, we hit up dirtybird, a Claude Von Stroke affair at The Fillmore, a charming theater near Comerica Park. Claude and Justin Martin went b2b and each crescendo was emphasized by smoke and vapors blown into the room, finalizing with a blast of feathers. Why not? That night’s standout track: Makam’s “What Ya Doin’.” All in all, it was a lovely weekend at one of America’s very best (and most affordable) festivals.

So, what’s on for this weekend? This Saturday night, America’s Best DJ Summer Tour Presented by Pioneer DJ & DJ Times heads out to Hollywood, Calif., for the Avaland party at Avalon, where we’ll catch ABDJ nom Kristina Sky (playing with top trancers Andy Moor and Menno de Jong). We hope to see you at our booth—and on the dancefloor.

And don’t forget. Online voting is now live, and ABDJ voters are automatically registered to win a trip for two to Las Vegas on Oct. 13 for our America’s Best DJ Closing Party/Awards Ceremony at Marquee Nightclub. Also, don’t forget toLIKE us on Facebook and to FOLLOW us on Twitter—you’ll be automatically registered to win Pioneer DJ gear and DJ Times subscriptions.

For the very latest on America’s Best DJ Summer Tour Presented by Pioneer DJ & DJ Times, please visitwww.americasbestdj.net.